Pope Francis reveals new church law to deal with paedophile priests [View all]

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Move to remove Catholic bishops from office if they fail to sack known child abusers is response to demand by victims

Chris Johnston and Rosie Scammell
Saturday 4 June 2016 08.10 EDT

Catholic bishops who fail to sack paedophile priests can be removed from office under new church laws announced by Pope Francis.

The move, announced by the pope on Saturday, answers a long-running demand by victims of abuse to make bishops responsible if they fail to stop clergy sexually abusing parishioners.

Many have long accused bishops of simply moving priests accused of abuse to another parish, rather than report them to police or church authorities.

While acknowledging that church laws already allowed for a bishop to be removed for negligence, Francis said he wanted the “grave reasons” more precisely defined. However, doubts remain about the Vatican’s commitment to tackling the issue.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/04/pope-francis-church-law-paedophile-priests-catholic-bishops